3.12.2012

King Tuff

Well we'd be remiss to tell you we weren't excited for the release of this upcoming King Tuff record. Over the course of RSTB, there have been fewer bands that we've been more excited about, sadder to see dissolve and still more excited to see rise up again. After a brief detour into Happy Birthday territory, Kyle Thomas is back at the reigns of Tuff again and he's brought that ripped denim swagger back to the fold. The album's bursting with the power pop slide that made Mindblow and Was Dead such giddily fun records but its apparent that Thomas' time in Happy Birthday wasn't merely a diversion; and he brings some of that project's candy-coated whimsy to the slower songs here, even nodding ever so slightly into Elephant 6-ish psych territory. At its core, though, he's retained the Tuff sound and it explodes in your ears like Pop Rocks and Jolt. Tuff has always been about exploring your weird side, waving whatever flag you're comfortable under as high and hard as possible and then dancing it down the hallways like no one's watching. The real windfall here is that Tuff returns to the stage. After a brief shot in NYC last April, which was met with the kind of exuberant full one crowd hysterics that he deserved, he'd picking things back up in SXSW this year and hopefully spreading the word to the world shortly afterward. If you're down there, you'll find us face pressed against speakers and loving every minute of it.